As befits a game traditionally passed from one generation to the next, baseball has always had a special reverence for origins. Claims of being first with any element of the game are disputed with fervor and passion. When the octogenarian Fred Goldsmith died in 1939, a headline proclaimed, 'Goldsmith Dies Insisting He Invented Curve Ball'; Fred Goldsmith understood the secret of immortality. Yet while countless thousands of words have been spilled on the subject of baseball “firsts,” there...

Set in a fractured, depopulated Britain, ‘No Repeat of Yesterday’ is a fast-paced thriller that asks questions about the trust we invest in those who wield power. The 2070s. A military-controlled regime fosters social cohesion via the charade of an external military threat. To this end, RAF pilot Nicole Dibaba conducts spectacular nocturnal raids against unoccupied industrial targets. As millions embrace the apparent realities, alternative voices invade the state-controlled media. Dibaba’s...

This book is the result of one man's twenty-year quest to solve some of baseball's most enduring mysteries--the "cold cases" of major leaguers about whom virtually nothing is known. (In many instances, the various baseball encyclopedias list only their names and one other word: "deceased.") Some of these mysterious players had negligible professional careers and their time on a major league diamond was more the result of good fortune than anything else; others were stars in their day and t...

Today the baseball catcher is a familiar but uninspiring figure. Decked out in the so-called tools of ignorance, he stolidly goes about his duty without attracting much attention. But it wasn't always that way, as Peter Morris shows in this lively and original study. In baseball's early days, catchers stood a safe distance behind the batter. Then the introduction of the curveball in the 1870s led them to move up directly behind home plate, even though they still wore no gloves or protectiv...

Another new book in the popular and original series of pictorial guides - John Oakland cuts through the complex concepts and confusing jargon associated with implementing Total Quality, and Peter Morris presents the information in his inimitable pictorial style. This book will show students and managers what they need to understand about TQM in the simplest, clearest and most memorable form. Professor John Oakland is undoubtedly the British guru of quality management. Following a successfu...

Most baseball fans want to hear about stellar players and spectacular plays, statistics and storied franchises. Level Playing Fields sheds light on a usually unnoticed facet of the game, introducing fans and historians alike to the real fundamentals of baseball: dirt and grass. In this lively history, Peter Morris demonstrates that many of the game’s rules and customs actually arose as concessions to the daunting practical difficulties of creating a baseball diamond.Recove...

Condemned by the mother of Jamie Bulger and acclaimed by the critics - for tackling the subject of child killers - this is the controversial new play from the winner of the Sunday Times Playwriting Prize 2001Few kids have a secret as chilling as Timmy's.Stephanie loves Raquel to death.Acutely topical, darkly satirical and brutally uncompromising - these two monologues explore the shattering of childhood innocence. "The play opens up a moral minefield. Who can, or sh...

****This is a pocket-sized version of the A4 pictorial guide***Whatever the shape or size of a business, they all have one thing in common - they hope to make money. A major factor in determining success is the ability of management to control its finances. Business Finance painlessly demystifies the process of accounting and the understanding of business finance. Follow the adventures of a small-time entrepreneur and his finance director as she helps him turn his business from a potential...

Mary a bright but slightly frivolous teenager is wooed by sweet-sounding sirens; the lure of sexual psychopathy with its compulsive quicksands, the trendy student philanthropies, the fake Edens of the devious egalitarian social worker.Her courage and strength of character are the antidote and the solution to these charlatans and other false flags. They enable her to avoid what Kierkegaard calls, ‘The greatest despair of not knowing who you are.’ She evolves into a sound-minded young woman,...

Biomedical Imaging: Applications and Advances discusses the technologies and latest developments in the increasingly important field of imaging techniques for the diagnosis of disease, monitoring of medical implants, and strategies for personalized medicine. Chapters in part one explore the full range of imaging technologies from atomic force microscopy (AFM) to positron emission tomography (PET), as well as the next-generation techniques that could provide the basis for personalized medic...

This book completes the series of histories of the clubs and players responsible for making baseball the national pastime that began with Base Ball Pioneers, 1850-1870 (McFarland 2011). Forty clubs and hundreds of pioneer players from the first hotbeds of New York City, Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts are profiled by leading experts on baseball's early years. The subjects include legendary clubs such as the Knickerbockers of New York, the Eckfords and Atlantics of Brooklyn, the...

Environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) is an important and often obligatory part of proposing or launching any development project. Delivering a successful ESIA needs not only an understanding of the theory but also a detailed knowledge of the methods for carrying out the processes required. Riki Therivel and Graham Wood bring together the latest advice on best practicefrom experienced practitioners to ensure an ESIA is carried out effectively and efficiently. This new e...